Wild land fires can get out of control in seconds. This can be exacerbated by ill preparation.

Six years ago the out of control fires had reached an all time high. A simple solution seemed to be to hit the burners where their pocket books were. A fee based wild land fire system would be implemented. If adequate control wasn’t prepared then the fee would be invoked.

It seemed like a logical approach and the number of wild land fires went down. But little did I know the farmers weren’t happy with the fees.

Months later I almost got terminated. I can’t say for sure that this was the lone reason, but it sure appeared that way. I was asked by a commissioner to clear a fee, which I did.

Even though I did as asked, the damage had been done. Months later a motion was made to terminate me. I was fortunate that the two other commissioners didn’t vote yes too.

Lesson learned – a logical solution isn’t always a good solution.

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The latest Donald Trump “I didn’t mean what I said” was yesterday. It was the comments about the meeting with Russian leader Mr. Putin. Trump seems like he’s too nice to Putin for some reason or another.

Is it because Mr. Putin donated to his campaign?

I never thought about it until now, but now realize how inappropriate it would be. There are enough special interests groups and individuals already. But we do have some controls on them.

Trump is hard on everyone else. He also seems like he wants to change things overnight Things like the trade agreement. It needed to be changed but not overnight. We aren’t big enough to go it alone.

Immigration is another change that needs changed, but not overnight. All the successful countries are faced with the immigration issue. Couldn’t we come together and implement a similar course of policy.

I hope that President Trump backs off the accelerator, but he has no indication he will. If not then we’ll have to wait until the next election to correct the problem and hope that any serious mistakes can be righted.

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“Do you know the secret of life? It’s “one thing” – just one thing. You stick to that and the rest don’t mean shit. What’s the one thing? That’s what you have to find out.”
Those are lines from the movie City Slickers when old-time Cowboy Curly is life counseling City Slicker Mitch.

This year would’ve been my 41st emergency service anniversary along with my marriage of the same time. I retired this past year. I must have done some things right to thrive for that long in two challenging ventures. So, if I had to boil it down – like Curly – to one thing, what would that one thing be?

It would be “harmony.”

The definition of harmony that I like best is – “A combination of sounds considered pleasing to the ear.” This musical definition is one that can apply to every situation – the smallest to the largest, the least fortunate to most fortunate.

Music is something that you can produce with the smallest of resources to the grandest. You can have a full orchestra accompaniment or you can sing a duet with no instruments at all.

Somebody famous once said, “If you can’t be happy with what you have, how could you be happy with more?” To me what this means is happiness should be happening all along during your trip. You won’t have much fun – possibly none at all – if happiness doesn’t come until you reach some grand attainment.

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The big gong slammed the sides of the brass bell as it rocked back and forth in its cradle. The message “wasn’t” that it was lunch time. This was a fire message and the firefighters heard it.

Two of the responders were Fred Brodbeck and Raymond Miller – fire chief and driver. Their means of travel was a Mitchell car with a custom rear bed that carried firefighting equipment. This was a custom addition designed by the chief.

They raced down Ohio Street and just as they were approaching the Iron Street Bridge a horse and buggy pulled onto the street. Miller swerved but the car caught the rear of the buggy and launched the car down the banks of the Smoky Hill River.

Brodbeck was seriously injured in the accident and was taken to the hospital. But, this was well before we knew how to treat infection. Gangrene set in and the chief died five days later at the age of 39.

Brodbeck came to Salina, Kansas from Chicago. The local press chronicled the innovative things he implemented. Many of them were successful, but unfortunately one was the Mitchell modification.

Those of us in wild land firefighting have to be master innovators too. Standard trucks are converted into fire trucks. Military trucks are converted into fire trucks. All terrain vehicles are converted into fire trucks.

Most of our changes are good, but are there possibly some Mitchell modifications? Before you make modifications to a truck ask yourself some questions.

Have you exceeded the vehicle’s weight capacity? Turning ability could be adversely affected. Braking could be adversely affected. Rollover potential could be heightened.

Are undercarriage components heat resistant? Plastic brake lines could melt from heat. Fuel lines could do the same. This could happen at the most inopportune time, possibly endangering the lives of firefighters.

Have you designed rear-riding locations properly? Hand rails must be present and must be adequate. Some type of belting system needs to be present. Sharp cornered impact points should be eliminated or covered.

Are you changing a key operational component? You should not change the size of a truck’s tires without getting a stamp of approval from the manufacturer. Too small of tires might cause a heat build-up on brake pads.

Let a picture of the Brodbeck accident be your visual reminder. Prepare a list of safety questions before making any truck modifications. A good name for it might be The Mitchell Questionnaire.